Improvement in iron bedsteads for woven-wire mattresses



Patented March 3. I874 INVENTGR:

ATTEST NTED STATES PATE T OFFICE.

JOHN G. SMITH, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 148,254, dated March 3, 1874; application filed I J annary 21, 1874.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN G. SMITH, of St. Louis, in the county of St. Louis and State of Missouri, have invented a certain Improvement in Iron Bedsteads for Woven-Wire Mattresses, of which the following is a specification:

This invention relates to a means of support for a woven-wire mattress. Such mattresses are necessarily provided with a stretching-frame, consisting of side and end bars, which are connected at the corners by brackets or corner-castings. The frames have heretofore been. made of such size as to fit within the rails of an ordinary bedstead, and be sup ported thereby. My improvement consists in providing the corner-castings with lugs or projections of any suitable form for the attachment of legs, thus doing away with the cumbrous appendage of an ordinary bedstead, which, in its combination with the mattressframe, furnishes a retreat for the occupancy of vermin 5 also, the bedstead in this form is so difficult to keep clean as to banish this class of bedstead from hospitals and insane and other asylums, whereas with my arrangement it is particularly applicable to such uses, as being compact, strong, and light, and capable of being cleansed and disinfected with great ease.

I will now describe my preferred manner of construction in carrying my invention into practice.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of one end of my improved bedstead. Fi 2 is an enlarged sectional elevation through one of the legs.

A is the usual woven-wire fabric. B B and O are, respectively, side and end bars of the mattressframe, secured together by brackets or corner-castings D. E is a U-shaped bow or head-rail, formed of gas-pipe, and whose descending ends pass through the collars or lugs d, fitting tightly therein. The lower ends 0 of the bow E are exteriorly screw-threaded, and upon these screw-threaded parts screw the interiorly screw-threaded upper ends f of the legs F, formed of larger gas-pipe than the and ends e of the bows is similar at both ends of the bedstead, and either or both may be provided with cross-bars e, and may be made of suitable height for support of a mosquito bar, or for other purpose.

Gr is a foot-block inserted in the lower end of the leg F. In place of the block G, a caster may be applied; or, in some cases, (for instance, in insane-asylums or jails,) the bedstead may be made fast to the floor by screws screwing into the floor, and axially into the legs.

The construction admits of modification in various ways without essentially changing it. For instance, the legs F and bows E may be made solid instead of tubular; or the upper end of the leg F may stand beneath the lug (1 instead of the lug cl, the descending ends 6 of the bow E, in this case, fitting the eyes of both lugs d cl, which eyes would be of the same bore. The lugs d (1 need not necessarily be of the form shown, the only essential being their capacity for securing a vertical leg to the corner-castings. For instance, they may be in pairs, each pair forming a dovetail claw or cleat, to hold a leg having dovetail portions to fit in said cleats.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination of the rails B and (J, corner-castings D, and lugs d d, for theattachment of legs to the said casting, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination of the rails B and (l, corner-castings D, lugs d (1, legs 1*, and bows E, arranged substantially as set forth.

JOHN G. SMITH.

Witnesses SAuL. KNIGHT, ROBERT BURNS. 

